Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater 5.1 to 7.1 - Surrounds Question

If less than 4ft QS8's either a pair or a single, I ran a 6.1 system for years and it worked very well as the QS spreads the sound out very well, but with the new 7.1 movies an extra rear channel might be warranted.

If the distance is more than 4ft then I would recommend some M2s or M22s as the distance will allow the speaker to spread the sound out and also throw the sound out towards the listening position. Although alot of this is personal prefference, some people still prefer the QS all the way around.

But to say it another way. There is some 7.1 discrete content out there now, and there will only be more in the future. Along with PLIIx which can make 7.1 out of anything (not to mention PLIIz which can make 9.1 out of anything). Don't rule out support for 7.1 if you have even the smallest interest in using it in the future. At least run the wires, or make some allotment for it, even if you stick with 5.1 for now.

'Nook, welcome. As some of the replies indicated, the determining factor isn't the size of the room, but the availability of enough space behind the listening position for a good rear sound field to develop. There's no hard and fast rule, but at least 4' is a common suggestion. If not, a 7.1 setup wouldn't likely be of significant benefit(and a single rear surround in 6.1 wouldn't be either), and mounting the side surrounds a couple feet farther back than directly to the side would give a bit of phantom back effect to help out some. You could consider moving the couch slightly toward the front to provide more space behind you.

Junk in the trunk?

Why not start with 5.1 and see if that's good enough? Or if you have a newer receiver, adding WIDE or HEIGHT speakers adds more to the overall effect - so I'm told.

I believe I'll be going with the HEIGHT speakers soon. According the the people that invented it (Dolby PLIIz or Audyssey's DSX), the order of importance is WIDE followed by HEIGHT.

But in my room, WIDEs are out of the question.

Thanks for all the great advice and suggestions so far - this looks to be a very active and helpful forum.

I recognize that 7.1 material is just starting to emerge in the marketplace.

I just bought a new receiver on Boxing Day so I should be good in that department for the next couple of years. Well, actually I bought two because I couldn't decide which one I really wanted. I got a Yammie 6290 and a Denon 890. We'll see which one earns their place in the equipement rack.

Although the room is not an odd shape I still don't have huge placement flexibilty because on one side wall at the midway point is a fireplace so furnture is either before or after it.

The wire fishing idea should work - both suurounds are on an exterior wall so there should be a vapour barrier. But I am considering the baseboard idea too.

The surrounds will go on side walls that are 6 feet long so I could go a foot or two in front, even or a foot or two in back as one of you mentioned.

Since the QS's seem to be somewhat "multidirectional" if I mount them behind the main listening area should I purchase a pivoting bracket so they can be angled or will a flat wall mount set-up be fine?

Thanks again for all the feedback.

Yes, if you use only side surrounds they should be positioned a couple feet farther back rather than directly to the side. The "multidirectional" nature of the QSs makes it unnecessary to aim them and they should be mounted flat to the wall.

I really wonder about what they choose to release in 7.1. There are some crazily unimportant catalog titles that get 7.1 audio, yet there are so many new big blockbusters that stick with 5.1.

I think it has to do a lot with whether the audio is being remixed for the release or not. One of the first DVDs with DTS ES 6.1 was Se7en. The picture and audio were completely reworked for DVD release, so they figured since the 6.1 tech was available they might as well use it. I figure the same is happening with BD. When the sound is being completely remixed they figure might as well go all the way. But for recent theatrical releases which already have strong 5.1 mixes, they just get ported straight to disc.

By the way, the new 7.1 mix on The Nightmare Before Christmas BD is amazing.

Man, I fell asleep during my viewing of that Blu-ray, and I still haven't made a point of watching it in its entirety, but yes, that movie really pops on BD, both in picture and sound.